It's easy to assume that flying in business or first class is going to break your miles or points bank — especially when flying overseas. But that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to flying ANA business and first class to Japan.

By taking advantage of ANA's mileage program or partner sweet spots, you can book amazing first and business class awards on ANA to Tokyo for surprisingly reasonable rates. And thanks to a solid on-board experience, flying ANA to Japan is an excellent way to cross the Pacific.

What's more, it recently got cheaper to book ANA's award flights. In 2020, the airline reduced carrier-imposed surcharges for these flights, which means out-of-pocket costs for travelers are even less.

Here are the best ways to book ANA business and first class using points and miles.

ANA routes between the U.S. and Japan

The best ANA sweet spots are either priced based on the flight distance or require a nonstop flight on ANA to get the cheapest award rate. So it’s important to know which routes ANA operates between the U.S. and Japan.

Here are the routes in operation for spring 2022, along with the distances:

These routes are subject to change and ANA could add or drop routes, so be sure to double-check that the one you want is still available.

Best rewards programs for booking ANA business and first class with points and miles

ANA is a member of Star Alliance, so you can redeem miles from any Star Alliance partner for ANA award flights. However, ANA’s own mileage program and its nonalliance partners — such as Virgin Atlantic and Etihad Airways — provide the best award pricing.

For example, United charges 121,000 MileagePlus miles each way for an ANA first class award between the U.S. and Japan.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic charges just 55,000 Virgin Points for the same award flight. This is one of the best ways to book ANA first class using points and miles, as you can pay less than half the miles other programs charge. However, if you are able to find round-trip award availability, ANA's Mileage Club generally provides the best award rates.

Best for round-trip awards: ANA Mileage Club

For round-trip awards, it's best to book through ANA's own Mileage Club program. During low-season dates, you can pay as few as 75,000 ANA miles for a round-trip business class award between North America and Japan. Even during high-season dates, you won't pay more than 90,000 ANA miles round trip for business class to Japan — as long as you can find award availability.

First class awards are roughly double business class rates. Awards between North America and Japan start at 150,000 miles round trip during low season and increase to 165,000 miles round trip during high season. Still, this is solid award pricing considering United charges 121,000 miles each way for flights in ANA first class.

Flights from Hawaii to Japan are even cheaper. You'll have to pay just 60,000 ANA miles round trip for business class awards or 120,000 ANA miles round trip for first class. Aviation nerds will especially love flying on this route, as it's operated using ANA's unique Flying Honu Airbus A380 aircraft.

ANA is also a great option for continuing on to destinations beyond Japan. Depending on the season, you can fly to parts of Asia for as few as 80,000 miles round trip in business class. Or, fly all the way to Australia for as few as 105,000 miles round trip in ANA business class.

To get ANA Mileage Club miles, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 transfer ratio. Or you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to ANA at a 3:1 ratio, plus a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points.

Best for nonstop one-way flights: Virgin Atlantic Virgin Points

Virgin Points are the best way to book one-way ANA award flights between the U.S. and Japan, with one condition: You need to book a nonstop flight, since Virgin charges extra miles if you book a connecting flight.

As long as you meet that condition, the award pricing is great:

Even if you don’t have Virgin Points, you can still take advantage of this sweet spot. Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of:

American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio).

Chase Ultimate Rewards® (1:1).

Citi ThankYou Points (1:1).

Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points).

ANA awards can’t be searched or booked on Virgin Atlantic’s website, so before you transfer points, call Virgin Atlantic or search for award availability through United’s website or ExpertFlyer.